Page 6 of Kiss of Fire

She fought to stay awake but her grip on consciousness was fading fast. Black spots tinged her vision and a wave of nausea threatened to engulf her.

“What is your answer?”The voice vibrated through her, a dark throb edged with impatience. “Will you come? Or stay here?”

Dimly she saw Dr Meadows and Mary round the corner and stumble to a halt. Their eyes widened as they took in the monster, the shadows filling the corridor, the orderly lying unconscious.

Mary started screaming, and that, combined with the howling alarm, made Raya feel like her head was exploding. Tears streamed down her face.

She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t. She’d rather die. And no matter what this creature wanted, it couldn’t be any worse than being trapped here for another second.

“What is your answer, Suraya?”The voice seemed to rumble through her soul. It knows my name, she thought hazily.

The last thing she remembered before sliding into darkness was murmuring two words. Words only the beast could hear.

“Take me.”

Four

“Snap!”

Raya slammed her hand down on the pile and Caroline groaned in defeat. It was her fourth loss in a row.

“You win again, monkey. You’re just too fast for me.”

Raya beamed at her adopted mother. Card games on a Sunday – along with salted caramel ice cream before bed - were a family tradition.

“Let’s try a hand of rummy.” Her adopted father, Ross, reached out and pushed the pile of cards towards her. “You deal.”

She gathered them up, absently scratching at an itchy patch on her ear.

“Eczema playing up again?” Caroline said sympathetically. “Do you want me to fetch your cream?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll put some on later.”

“Have you thought any more about which school you prefer for next year?” Ross asked. “Westmore or Dartington High?”

Raya frowned in thought. She’d been offered scholarships to each of them, which was a good job as they were both eye-wateringly expensive.

“I like them both. But I’d have to board at Dartington and I want to stay closer to home. I think Westmore.”

“Good choice, pickle.” Ross nodded approvingly. “They’ve got great facilities and it’s only twenty minutes away. I can come and embarrass you when the lads try to chat you up.”

“Dad! Eww!”

Caroline was relieved. She’d been worried Raya would be excited by the prospect of living away from home and she wasn’t ready to lose her daughter yet. God knows it would only be a few more years before she went to college. But right now, she was still their little girl, only just learning about make-up and boys and fashion. There was plenty of time for her to grow up.

There was a knock at the door.

“Who could that be?”

Ross frowned. It was rare that anyone came calling on a Sunday night. Unless it was those Jehovah’s Witnesses again.

He got up from the kitchen table and disappeared into the hallway towards the front door. Raya started dealing out the cards.

“I’m glad you’ve chosen Westmore,” Caroline said. “I’m so proud of you, getting the academic scholarship. You must have some real brains somewhere in your genes.”

Raya didn’t say anything. Her adopted parents were both engineers, they had brains in abundance. But of course, their genes weren’t hers. For all she knew, she came from a family of blithering idiots. Maybe nurture really did beat nature.

“What on earth is keeping your father?” Caroline put her cards down. “I’d better check he’s not being conned by a salesman or something.”

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